: the sale of commodities in quantity usually for resale (as by a retail merchant)
1
: performed or existing on a large scale especially without discrimination
wholesale slaughter
2
: of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of commodities in quantity for resale
a wholesale grocer
: in a wholesale manner
wholesaled; wholesaling
: to sell (something) in quantity usually for resale
: to sell in quantity usually for resale
Examples of wholesale in a Sentence
Adjective
The crops originated from wholesale growers.
Is that price retail or wholesale?
Verb
The company wholesales clothing to boutiques in the area.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alexandra Pastore, WWD, 3 Feb. 2025
Bull markets always benefit from healthy rotation, which refreshes tired stocks while reinvigorating laggards, as investors choose to shuffle exposures around rather than liquidate portfolios wholesale.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 1 Feb. 2025
David Moin, WWD, 5 Feb. 2025
There's also climate change regs, union mandates, wholesale access requirements... all kinds of left-wing priorities on the program that divert resources away from the overall goal of closing broadband gaps.
—Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2025
Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 10 Aug. 2012
ByteStyle, the company’s code of values, preaches a culture that could have been lifted wholesale from Google or Amazon: diverse, inclusive, radically honest and transparent.
—Alex W. Palmer, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
Max Berlinger, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The proposal would open the door to wholesaling marijuana to the new entities, according to Savchenko.
—Dara Kam, Sun Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for wholesale 
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Noun
Notably, several Australian brands will be introduced to international wholesale for the first time, including Viktoria & Woods and Morrison.
—Alexandra Pastore, WWD, 3 Feb. 2025
Bull markets always benefit from healthy rotation, which refreshes tired stocks while reinvigorating laggards, as investors choose to shuffle exposures around rather than liquidate portfolios wholesale.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
Here’s what’s happening: A 2,000-square-foot wholesale showroom in the Dallas World Trade Center, and a 2,800-square-foot wholesale showroom in the Cooper City building in Los Angeles, are both launching in March.
—David Moin, WWD, 5 Feb. 2025
There's also climate change regs, union mandates, wholesale access requirements... all kinds of left-wing priorities on the program that divert resources away from the overall goal of closing broadband gaps.
—Ars Technica, 4 Feb. 2025
Adverb
It got picked up wholesale from blog to blog and Tumblr to Tumblr so rapidly that the pedigree of it got lost.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 10 Aug. 2012
ByteStyle, the company’s code of values, preaches a culture that could have been lifted wholesale from Google or Amazon: diverse, inclusive, radically honest and transparent.
—Alex W. Palmer, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
Verb
Another engine of growth was wholesaling to retailers like Nordstrom and REI, which bolstered Mr. Kudla’s vision of a brand that could exist alongside both fashion labels and outdoor gear.
—Max Berlinger, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The proposal would open the door to wholesaling marijuana to the new entities, according to Savchenko.
—Dara Kam, Sun Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for wholesale
Dictionary Entries Near wholesale
Cite this Entry
“Wholesale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wholesale. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wholesale
1 of 3 noun
whole·sale
ˈhōl-ˌsāl 
: the sale of goods in large quantity usually for resale (as by a store owner)
wholesale
2 of 3 adjective1
: of, relating to, or engaged in the sale of goods in quantity for resale
a wholesale grocer
wholesale prices
2
: done on a large scale : general
wholesale changes in the team's roster
wholesale
adverb
wholesale
3 of 3 verb
wholesaled; wholesaling
: to sell usually in large amounts for resale
wholesaler
noun
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